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31 January 2008

The noise around the Winograd Commission report is so deafening and the opinions (probably coming mostly from people who, like I, haven't read the report itself) are so widely and wildly different that I have decided to prepare a brief for myself and other dummies.

Let's start with the opinions. Of course, our gallant enemy, the Hezbollah and its valiant underground leader come first:

And of course, nothing makes Olmert happier than that (relative) silence of your Likud rivals. They just don't know what to do, repeating their toothless "Olmert must go" that, in the circumstances, sounds quite pathetic.

And of course, some of the political fallout folks still cannot get in touch with reality:

There really is no contradiction: the weakest links in the Lebanon war seem to be these in the staff level chain of command.

So on one hand we have the outraged public demanding that the person on whose table the buck stops take the responsibility and go home. Which, on the moral side of it, would seem to be just the thing to do, no matter what the Winograd report says.

But on the formal side, while Winograd report does blame Olmert in many faults, the ultimate blame was put on the tables of IDF high command. And the top IDF brass, at least part of it, have already done what is expected of the officer found culpable - unlike their ultimate commander.

Well, what is left? Likud, nurturing their wounds caused by premature eja victory calls? They will recover, I guess. Hope springs eternal.

So, after this review - should Olmert resign or announce early election and with high level of probability vacate his chair to Bibi (or to Barak, with lesser chances)? Only a few months ago I was one of the multitude clamoring for his resignation. In normal circumstances, with respectable opposition leaders with unblemished record, my puny opinion would stay as above. But seeing who is going to inherit the chair, I would strongly advise to forget about that move.

Unfortunately, currently there is no replacement for our sleek, possibly corrupt and so far de facto unbeatable leader. Not by any democratic and practical means I can imagine.

I know it may sound immoral and defeatist and some will blame me in lack of moral fiber. But let's be real...

The latest brouhaha in the British parliament clearly shows that some conservatives still cannot figure out the power of PCS (Politically Correct Speak). The new invention of the Home Secretary that will ease the task of isolation and extermination of terrorism is beautiful in its simplicity: if you don't like it - just call it "anti-Islamic". And you are home and dry.

Of course, the dreary conservatives who always like things just as they are would vastly prefer to call a terrorist "terrorist", a bomb "bomb", a wife-beater "wife-beater". They just don't get it.

I, on the other hand, fell in love with the new idea immediately and have been vigorously applying it in my personal life. Here are some results I am happy to share with you.

Spouse. Definitely Islamic - pure as snow and so good I may even splurge on a burqa as a sign of my appreciation.

This story proves that meeting a Royal could still be a awe-inducing and even traumatic experience for a mere mortal.

Prince Philip shocked Oscar nominee Cate Blanchett when he asked her to fix his DVD player.

Here is the Prince:

And here is Cate Blanchett:

Of course, she was overwhelmed and he was a bit confused when she introduced herself as "working in the film industry". Nothing extraordinary, taking into account the slight senility involved on one of the sides. And there is no place for the press innuendos like:

He said, 'There's a cord sticking out of the back. Might you tell me where it goes?'

It's an opening line like any other, I heard much worse ones.

Speaking about the film industry, I too have a DVD player that needs fixing. Not being an RH, can I expect that Cate will not be shocked if I approach her with a similar request?

30 January 2008

Imagine a very secret meeting held somewhere in the Gaza Strip. Around a table sit various Hamas bigwigs and their leader makes the following speech:

"Ok, here's the plan. We'll wage war on our stronger neighbor, Israel, and lose; destroy our economy; make our people suffer; ensure international sanctions continue against us, and alienate almost all Arab regimes. Then, when things can't seem to get any worse, we'll turn out all the lights and get international sympathy!"

And he is right on all five counts. And yet...

Hamas indeed seems to be losing its war. The economy, what there was of it before the putsch, is thoroughly destroyed, leaving room for progress only for rocket science, Gazans suffer grievously indeed (a good part of them undeservedly), international sanctions (or at least the official attitude to those) are in place and the last meeting of Arab leaders was largely critical on Hamas.

But while prof. Rubin acknowledges (more or less) the inroads Hamas' propaganda made in the Western press, he sees this success as unimportant. Unfortunately, I have more than just gut feeling telling me the opposite.

Arafat's Fatah learned to use the language of images - fake or otherwise - to their advantage, and their Gazan "heirs", Hamas, do their best to improve on the technique. To use the "easy" example, the poster boy Muhammad Al Durah that was (still is) one of the main exhibits on the totem pole of the Intifada, but many others as well. Of course, the messages were sown in the fertile soil of generally anti-Israeli Muslim world and the Western fellow travelers, but no mistake about their potency.

The images are not addressed to the powers that be (also even the powers are influenced by their undeniable impact). The images are not aimed at a short-range goal. And the images don't even have to be true.

Hamas learned that the reasoning, the truth and the logic are all unimportant in the long run. They know that the images stay in our memory long after the logic, the reasoning and the truth are forgotten. Images, like nothing else, consolidate the myths, and there is hardly a social entity - well, a nation, that is not based on myths.

In the latest round of images: the insidious candles, the children trying to study in the darkness, the hungry people breaking through the border for food (that they succeeded to empty the Egyptian stores of electronics as well is a lesser matter), the queues for bread - all this has already entered the "treasure" of Palestinian and, indeed, Muslim folklore to stay there for years to come. And eroding whatever there remains of skeptical and realistic outlook.

Hamas is not in a hurry. They know very well that it takes years to sway the public, especially in the West and to make the public to fully accept their version of reality (or unreality, no matter). Even when the public and many of the media outfits seem to lap up their story quite readily. As a reminder - see the review by Soccer Dad.

So, while Hamas is in trouble, the wench is far from being dead. Hamas is kicking, and quite vigorously. To disregard this aspect of its activities would be a folly.

Thieves are robbing long-distance coaches by sneaking dwarves into the luggage holds in sports bags. Once inside, they slip out from their hiding places to rifle through the belongings of unsuspecting travellers. Then they take their loot back to their hiding place and wait to be collected by another gang member when the coach reaches its destination, reports The Sun.

I say - isn't it a good time to reconsider the minimal height requirement for police recruits?

29 January 2008

Whatever the reason, it seems that Gazans now metamorphosed into two distinct species. The fist one, giants of hitherto unheard size that are able to consume 400 kg of flour daily (not counting other foodstuffs).

The second one - midgets that are, probably, being developed to squeeze through the uncounted tunnels developed into an art form by the Gazans. Here they are:

Unless, of course, you believe that Zionists are growing secretly a new genetically modified strain of the D-9 Caterpillar - the Joozilla - to beat all existing bulldozers.

The only question is why doesn't Hamas unleash one of these super-giants against the Joozilla?

One of the last unrepentant* Stalinists attacks a "neocon". Making two major mistakes** in his usual righteous fervor.

(*) To repent one has to understand one's mistakes. This character is too retarded for understanding. (**) Cohen means Joo (or "neocon" in Milne-speak) in 99.9% of the cases. Not in this one. The other mistake is already out - see the correction to the article

It is true that the cosmetics drawer(s) in our a bathroom looks like a mix between a chemical lab and Dr. Frankenstein's toolbox. But recently I have surfed upon something that really made me shudder. It is called Butt Glue and it comes as a spray and as a roll-on. Precise manner and place of application is not specified (probably it is passed on the Need To Know basis), but there is a "Washes off with soap and water" soothing notice.

This only confirmed that we, the males, are born ignorant and spent our lives in ignorance about a lot of important subjects. This is the result of being thrown out of the house with a ball to play with your mates almost from day one...

Anyhow, philosophy aside, this glue raises a lot of questions that I don't even want to put in writing here. So I am calling on an expert instead.

You may have noticed that there were no announcements from our HQ lately. It is due to an undercover operation that sapped our resources and wasn't ready for disclosure for some time. But now we are able to report a resounding success. One Brian Robinson(1), a dedicated member of the anti-Zionist crowd, was done in. His own report on his mental meltdown follows. Unfortunately, mere mortal wouldn't be able to understand the level of insanity contained in it, so we are helpfully accompanying the report by some comments.

Please be aware ...

Something very worrying has just happened in that I've received an email purporting to come from my own email address to my email address. It is trying to sell me things of a nature that you may guess at.(2) Obviously there's no way of blocking this(3), but the worrying thing is that someone may be using my address to send out messages to anyone and everyone(4).

I have a firewall, keep my Norton up to date and also have recently installed a Norton antibot (as well as regularly screening for malware)(5).

I may have to change my email address but can't contact Yahoo BT until tomorrow morning(6).

Meanwhile please treat all communications appearing to come from me with caution(7), and also I'd be most grateful to you if you could let me know if you receive any dodgy email seeming to come from me(8).

Also do make sure you have every possible security for yourselves(9).

ThanksBrian(10)

Oh boy... it is the first time in my bloody career of Elders' operative that I have some twinges of hitherto totally repressed consciousness.

Update: nah, it's fine, it is just my left foot fell asleep.

Update 2: A dramatic development in the case:

I see from the linkThat Deborah FinkHas had her email divertedAll one-stater foolsAre aghast at the newsThat her messages now are perverted.

(1) Normally we wouldn't link to people of his ilk, but googling for Brian Robinson will shorten your lifespan.(2) Well, Brian couldn't very well confess that he may be in great need of "things of that nature", but we know, don't we, Brian?(3) No fucking way - on Elders' honor!(4) Now you are telling them?(5) Ha ha ha (it is not even funny, but)(6) Why should he bother, escapes me.(7) Too late. Should have warned his friends 50 years or so ago. We did.(8) And how wold they know, when all Brian's e-mails look the same? (9) See (5).(10) This is a part we can't do anything about. Unfortunately - see (1).

I don't suppose this tradition stems from saving the pension funds. Still, when you read the article, the habit seems to be a bit cruel.

In 2001, Hinckley received a pacemaker to regulate his heartbeat and, three days before his 95th birthday in 2005, he announced he had diabetes. Hinckley has walked with a cane since early 2001 because he said he was ``a little unsteady on my feet'' and that he suffered from vertigo.

I believe now that I can find a silver lining in anything, so I am not absolutely lost to humanity. Here comes an example of a tragic story, idiocy and yes, some silver lining. Plus a superb writer, person and blogger who was too het up to spend a few more minutes in an investigation. Writes Ami Isseroff:

Media bias is apparently an immovable fact of news reporting on the Middle East. I am not talking about doctored photos, use of hate words like "Israel Occupation Forces" and "Apartheid Wall" in more more extremist publications. I am referring to a pervasive standard of more subtle mendacity that we have come to accept. Like people condemned to live near a pigsty or a chemical plant, we have become so used to the stench that we hardly notice it. In the same way, Jews in other times became accustomed to wearing a yellow star, and black people in southern United States understood that they must ride in the back of the bus.

Difficult to disagree, especially on the background of the Western MSM recent surrender to the Hamas' propaganda. In this instance Ami describes a specific and truly disgusting Reuters piece.

Yesterday, two terror attacks took place in the West Bank. In one, Palestinian Arabs attacked border guards at a checkpoint and killed a border policeman. In another, Palestinian Arabs entered a civilian Yeshiva in the community of Kfar Etzion and tried to kill students there. The students were armed though, and they overcame and killed their attackers.

The Reuters report of this incident is below. It is not outstandingly anti-Israel, just biased and hateful in an ordinary pedestrian way. A casual reader might not notice much bias unless it was pointed out. What do we see here? The headline tells you that two Palestinians and one Israeli was killed. Clearly it is another case of the Israeli Goliath victimizing the oppressed Palestinian David. That is how those lopsided casualty figures pile up - incident by incident.

The lede paragraph tells us that "Jewish settlers shout dead two Palestinians" - without telling us why. It also tells you that "gunmen" (of unidentified origin - maybe Jewish) Killed an Israeli Border Guard (religion and ethnic affiliation unspecified.

Etc. Well, I have invested about 5 minutes to study the author of this dreck. One Ori Lewis, a Jerusalemite, most probably an Israeli. A quick google shows that Ori is mainly a Reuters sports hack with very few articles on other subjects. Now the provenance of the offensive headline "Two Palestinians, Israeli killed in W.Bank incidents" should be clear. Think "Brazil - Uruguay 3:1". And the further development of the story is a typical report on a sports event.

Small fry and not very professional, in other words. The editor of the story, one Tim Pearce, is quite another matter. Seems like a seasoned editor, having his fingers in lots of pies. But a bit of low level anti-Israeli coverage probably doesn't bother his majesty. Unless it's Mr Pearce himself that arranged the article in this way...

Canucks I happen to know are exceedingly gentle and kind-hearted people. This is not to say that the subject of this post is an exception, although he is not a Canuck by birth. It is that under his polished jet-set exterior and behind his worldly manners of a nuclear scientist hides an extremely sharp-toothed predator that has a healthy (?) appetite for stupid people.

And he has got himself quite a feast lately. So enjoy quietly and don't get on his bad side, be my free advice. But I guess you are not stupid, are you?

26 January 2008

In a protest organized by a coalition of left-wing movements, over 1,000 people demonstrated at the Erez border crossing on Saturday in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the residents of Sderot, under the slogan: "Stop the siege on Gaza: A demonstration for Gaza and for Sderot."

I, however, just heard on the radio (on the wireless for you Brits) the bit they missed:

The protest dispersed after a Qassam rocket, followed by a few mortar shells, landed in the vicinity of the Erez border crossing.

Soccer Dad has done a roundup that will leave you agape. Really. Some people disagree that Palestinian PR leaves its Israeli counterpart standing, but here you are. I especially love the candles piece:

In the first case, journalists who were invited to cover the Hamas government meeting were surprised to see Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and his ministers sitting around a table with burning candles.

In the second case on Tuesday, journalists noticed that Hamas legislators who were meeting in Gaza City also sat in front of burning candles.

But some of the journalists noticed that there was actually no need for the candles because both meetings were being held in daylight.

Some may say that it's just crude and obvious propaganda, but after reading Soccer Dad's review you will agree that the results are simply amazing.

Ehehe. There are some people that need some candles... or some hot pokers. But it's definitely not the Hamas' spin masters who do an excellent job.

The 69-year-old retired police chief of this small Missouri town cuts a credible figure as a 13-year-old girl surfing the Web, looking for friends. He knows all the instant-messaging shorthand, the emoticons. His latest catch was the biggest: four felony enticement charges against a town mayor, who after his arrest called Murray up and begged him to make the case go away.

Good job, Mr Murray!

And to the felon in question, the ex-mayor of Collins and ex-pastor of Temple Lot Church one Allen Kauffman aka Duke Dukead:

Never lie about your age, Duckhead!

May they award Jim Murray a pair of garden shears too - between other things.

25 January 2008

The three little piggies must brave another round of Politically Correct Idiocy, it looks like. It also looks like British dhimmis succeeded to surprise even their British Muslim friends by their readiness to prostrate themselves.

A story based on the Three Little Pigs fairy tale has been turned by a government agency's awards panel as the subject matter could offend Muslims.

The digital book, re-telling the classic story, was rejected by judges who warned that "the use of pigs raises cultural issues".

Interesting, what kind of "cultural issues" is meant:

But judges at this year's Bett Award said that they had "concerns about the Asian community and the use of pigs raises cultural issues".

As far as I know, a good part of the Asian community raises and consumes pigs quite happily, so it is a bit of a sweeping statement, innit?

I, personally, do believe that there could be a cultural issue involved. There are some major differences between British, Canadian and USA ways of preparing bacon, and I will take the risk of sounding offensive, but to my taste (admittedly leaning to crispy, burned and generally cancer-inducing foods), the US version is the best. I hope it will not offend my British readers.

As for offending the ill-defined "Asian community", here is the relevant quote:

Muslims criticised Becta's response and insisted that a computer program based on the Three Little Pigs should be welcomed in state schools.

Tahir Alam, the head of education at the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "We are not offended by that at all."

See what I mean by overprostrating oneself?

And a side remark: There is a sizable Jewish community in UK. A sizable part of this community, unlike your humble servant, does consider pigs offensive, but for some reason is not mentioned as a reason for the good judges' decision. Hmm...

The Guardian has done a whole spread on the Zionist atrocities in Gaza:

Obviously the "hardline response" that Guardianistas have in their collective mind is really not to their taste. Rockets are met with flowers in the Guardian la-la land, I am made to believe. But this is not what this post is about. It is about the helpful advice given by John Ging, the director of UNRWA's operations in Gaza, quoted in the leading article.

Ging said the rocket fire from Gaza, though illegal, did not justify such punitive measures against the civilian population, and the Israeli civilian population hit by the rockets, notably in Sderot near the boundary with Gaza, also deserved protection.

"Firing rockets from Gaza is not supported by the population here," he said. "One's actions must be measured against the rule of law. We should look at each action and hold accountable those who are actually committing them."

This is a mindbogglingly simple idea, I must say, and why no one thought about this solution before Mr Ging came into the picture is even more mindboggling.

So let's not criticize that point where rocket scientists are not supported by Gaza's population, after all it's a measly 70% who support them... Let's focus on the simple algorithm that will put stop to the rocketing.

Achmed and Sayed are two rocket scientists who have just finished a successful launch of three Qassams onto Sderot (the Zionist settlement, which is in no way supported by UNRWA, its mere existence being against UNRWA's best judgment). However:

UNWRA (that "we" in the Mr Ging's statement must mean only UNWRA, since no one else has volunteered for the job so far) looks at this action by Achmed and Sayed.

UNWRA measures this action "against the rule of law", whatever it means in UNWRA-speak, and we all know that the rule of law is foremost on the minds of all Gazzans.

Achmed and Sayed", says UNWRA, "we, the people of UNWRA, are holding you accountable!"

So, the first item on the agenda will be to put our hands on that paskudnyak - really simple. Then a short introductory lesson that will include an explanation of the term "paskudnyak" and removal of some non-vital extremities. Then about a week (I am being charitable here) of various activities that involve the subject being fully conscious and slow removal of various elements of his anatomy. To be continuously filmed.

The resulting 613 parts to be sent to other Photoshop geeks with the recording and an appropriate warning.

Thanks to Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu and his last speech, I have learned another meaning of an English word today:

Python:

A soothsaying spirit or a person who is possessed by such a spirit

The way I got to python was a bit complicated: reading the article I have recalled that there was a respectable and, apparently, well-paying second-tier occupation around the priestesses / pythonesses of Delphi - that of deciphering their complicated transmissions for poor mortals. And the reason for this memory coming up was my sheer incomprehension of the transmissions by Bibi, at least in the form presented in the article.

The lede of the article gives the gist of the three main points supposedly conveyed by the speaker:

Opposition leader speaks at Herzliya Conference, warns against Iran forging hold on West Bank, says only harsher deterrence will topple Hamas in Gaza. 'I want to create a reality of peace, hope for Palestinians," he concludes.

So far so good, right? But the problem is that this is as far as it goes, don't expect anything else.

It is easy to agree that Iranian foothold "near the Tel Aviv metropolitan area" is no good to anyone (including Iranians, methinks, their supply lines will be somewhat overstretched). But how to avoid that advent? Bibi wouldn't say more.

It may have been useful to get more info on that "harsher deterrence" (does it involve the whole IDF saying "boo" simultaneously in the general direction of Gaza? So far the deterrence seems to make the rocket scientists in Gaza more and more frisky), but in this respect Bibi doesn't want to say anything useful too. Probably out of fear that Olmert may steal his ideas.

And on the last part, that of creating a reality of peace and hope for Palestinians, Bibi is especially cryptic. He has to be, after calling for "harsher deterrence".

I suggest we try another way, the way of financial peace, which can lead the way to future political peace and prevent the future recruitment radical militants.

Harsh deterrence with financial peace is a discombobulating idea indeed. Does it mean to bombard Gaza by socks stuffed by shekel coins? We have two shekel coins freshly minted, by the way, could be even more potent.

The premiere of the show, which is based on the popular Israeli program "Hayoresh" ("The Successor"), attracted a large audience (more than 20 percent of viewers aged 14-49 tuned in) and received particularly extensive media coverage.

Apparently, Germans lapped up this stuff.

On the show, 10 "mentalists," as they are called in Germany, compete for the title of Geller's successor and for a prize of 100,000 euros. Geller himself appears as a guest and displays the psychic powers that have made him famous in Europe and elsewhere- bending cutlery and repairing electrical appliances.

I am not into succession, but I do have some cutlery to straighten out and a TV set and a phone on the fritz. I am afraid, though, that his visit fees could be exorbitant and that some more expensive cutlery may get bent by mistake. Or disappear...

The reason for that action appears to be that this DJ Tomekk sung "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles" and followed it up by the Nazi salute, explaining that there are "too many foreigners here in the house".

So, it appears that DJ Tomekk, whoever he is, has some Nazi leanings. But why throw him out of the jungle camp? This is where he belongs, it looks like...

22 January 2008

From the day this story exploded, I had my doubts about the mumbling and stumbling version of events that became official after a few days: that of an unmotivated attack by a murderous tiger on a group of innocent viewers. Something didn't smell right. It takes more than just a sight of a human being to make a sated and well cared for tiger to go out of its way to murder.

Paul Dhaliwal, 19, told the father of Carlos Sousa Jr., 17, who was killed, that the three yelled and waved at the tiger...

Sousa's father, Carlos Sousa Sr., said Dhaliwal told him the three stood on a 3-foot-tall metal railing a few feet from the edge of the tiger moat.

Toxicology results for Dhaliwal showed that his blood alcohol level was 0.16 -- twice the legal limit for driving, according to the affidavit. His 24-year-old brother Kulbir Dhaliwal and Sousa also had alcohol in their blood but within the legal limit, Matthews wrote.

All three also had marijuana in their systems, Matthews said.

So, on one side we have three idiots with too much alcohol and marijuana in their system, reeking of both and taunting the tiger. On the other side - an animal in its prime with fantastic sense of smell and all the killer instincts. Yes, the enclosure could have been higher - probably...

Notice also that the tigress didn't attack just anyone after escaping from the enclosure - she targeted the miscreants only.

"This is Palestinian spin. No one has stopped the supply of electricity to the Strip," Zarfati told Ynet.

The Gaza power plant only produces 30% of the electricity consumed in the Strip while Israel supplies the rest.

"The situation is totally absurd. We're continuing to supply them electricity despite the (demand) overload for electricity in Israel and despite the fact that Israeli residents and Electric Company workers that are being sent to Gaza Vicinity communities are under threat from Qassam rockets," Zarfati railed.

We should resist the efforts of Russian scientists to contact aliens who could threaten our very existence.The problem is obvious. If we discover alien life ourselves, we can decide what, if anything, to do about it. If, on the other hand, we alert aliens to our own existence, we'll be at their mercy.

I am afraid that it's too late already - with or without Russian scientists' involvement, they are already here. Proof? See for yourself:

It is too easy to tuck in one's ears, methinks, with the advanced alien plastic surgery. And fake glasses don't faze me!

"We have the choice to either cut electricity on babies in the maternity ward or heart surgery patients or stop operating rooms," Gaza Health Ministry official Dr. Moaiya Hassanain said.

Why don't you go and cut off the head of your Hamas handler, dear Dr. Hassanain? Because:

... the Gaza Strip continues to receive 70 percent of its electricity supply directly from Israel, which would not be affected, and another 5 percent from Egypt.

And if your hospital doesn't get the juice, it is not because of the Zionists or because of the power shortage, it is because somebody up there in Hamas wants some of your babies and pregnant moms-to-be and heart surgery patients to die.

I feel enormous respect for Daniel Barenboim. I am glad that he does so much for Palestinian people, giving concerts in Ramallah and doing everything to bridge the gap. I shall continue buying his disks, even those with Wagner.

However, I have never seen him visiting Kiryat Shmona or Sderot or giving a concert there, and it is a pity.

20 January 2008

Haveil Havalim #150 is up, there were some hints from the founding father / main engine / driving force / [place your own superlative] about quitting, but I am not accepting something I cannot believe in (a three-millennial Jooish tradition), so here.

After year and a half of hiding, Nasrallah the Lebanese groundhog emerged from his bunker. Triumphantly too, and with good reason.It is not for nothing that he spent the time in seclusion, it appears, and all rumors about his cowardly behavior are just vicious Zionist propaganda.

"Oh Zionists, your army is lying to you ... your army has left the body parts of your soldiers in our villages and fields," Nasrallah said. "Our mujahideen used to fight these Zionists, killing them and collecting their body parts. I am not talking about regular body parts. I tell the Israelis, we have the heads of your soldiers, we have hands, we have legs ... there is even a near-complete body, a half or three-quarters of a body, from head, to chest to the torso," he added.

Is it clear to you now that our brave Sheik was not hiding for his safety but developing a new hobby: body parts collection and cataloging?

"We have decided to make Sderot a ghost town," said a spokesman for Hamas who gave his name as Abu Ubeideh. "We are not going to stop launching our rockets until they leave."

Granted, the thrust of the article - the government doesn't do enough - is correct. But doing Hamas' bidding instead of finding a way to stop the barrages will be a clear victory to the terrorism.

Anyhow, this is not my main point. Let's go back to the beginning of Seth's piece:

Imagine a London where a sword of Damocles hangs over every street and every building. A London where the day is punctuated by missiles raining down indiscriminately on schools, homes, parks and gardens. A London where the difference between crossing the road or not could be the difference between having your face ripped to shreds by shrapnel from incoming rockets falling from the sky.

So here comes my point: imagine this, dear Londoners and, being as enlightened as you are by years of progressive thought, anti-war demos, sterling knowledge of right and wrong and, let's not delude ourselves, many years of fat and trouble-free life - tell me what you would have done in our place?

19 January 2008

could imperil one's mental balance. You can take it to the bank. Today, after reading this post of his, I have decided, his warning notwithstanding, to go and read the comments to this article on CiF (yes, it is an offshoot of The Guardian called Comment is Free - how many times could you ask?).

So my mental balance is kaput now. Alcohol in large quantities is the only remedy and will be administered orally shorty. Meanwhile a gem that stuck in my memory. It is by one of the regulars calls itself thickskull (it was already noticed that denizens of CiF in their humility tend to be quite correct about their mental powers):

Finally, may I caution commenters not to fall too easily into the trap of apportioning all sorts of blame to the 'Jews' [notice the quotation mark]. It may be more accurate to say 'Zionists' [which obviously means that it is the 'Zionists' that are responsible for all the mayhem in the world]. Not all Jews are neocon or malignantly pro-imperialist Israel [hmm... not all Jews are neocon or Israel, I see a sliver of a blue sky there], and putting them on the defensive means they are incited to hit back, hogging the comment columns and hijacking the rational discussion of important issues [oh boy, ain't they bad and ain't we rational and important!].

And thickskull is quite benign, I have to tell you. Anyway, now you and I know: if you wanna say "Jews", just say "Zionists" and everything will be peachy. Cool.

One of Malaysia's most popular rock singers has shocked audiences and been barred from appearing on a television station for six months after he peeled off his shirt and bared his chest during a live performance.

Faizal Tahir, 29, threw his shirt into the crowd and revealed a Superman-style S painted on his bare torso at the concert in Kuala Lumpur, shown live on national television.

17 January 2008

Australia said Wednesday that Japan has agreed to release two activists being detained going aboard a Japanese whaling ship near Antarctica, as whale hunters and defenders traded accusations of piracy.

Yep, it seems that the whalers have agreed to release the two. Here they come:

There are a few more words in the article about this death that will be soon forgotten, as Carlos Chavez himself will be. Ami Isseroff tried to do Carlos some justice.

Today a man who came to work in peace, to help realize the dream of an egalitarian socialist society, or perhaps just to have a new experience, was murdered by Arab snipers. His death was hardly noticed, it seems.

A few years ago Rachel Corrie came to Israel to defend terrorists from "Zionist aggressors." She was killed by accident while trying to stop a bulldozer from destroying a building used for smuggling or terror attacks. Her death was trumpeted all over the world as an example of Zionist mentality. We know who she is and what she looked like and why she claimed to have come to Israel. We knew all about her views of the oppressive and evil Zionists.

I know that the comparison was unintentional. But we remember Rachel Corie (and how could we forget, with all the "progressives" continuing the build-up of the totem pole...) with her obsessive hate that definitely overcame whatever love for Palestinians she was able to display. And it is wrong to compare her in any way with a man who came to saw seeds in our soil.

A Slovenian woman who found a mouse foot in a jar of pickles was shocked to be told it was "completely normal".

Ministry spokeswoman Vivijan Potocnik said: "It is completely normal in big factories to have mice wandering around, and yes, every now and then they get caught amongst the machines and do get bottled, seasoned, preserved and even make it in one piece to consumers. During the preservation process even traces of any salmonella bacteria are eliminated in food. A mice-foot therefore could be classified as a special additive to the pickles."

Shouldn't they charge extra for the foot then?

Next time you tour Slovenia, check you restaurant bills carefully for the extras...

Palestinians warm themselves around a fire during a power outage in Gaza City,Monday, Jan. 14, 2008. In early January Israel cut back on some of its fuel shipments to the volatile Gaza Strip in response to the daily barrages of homemade rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza at Israeli border towns.(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

The next one goes for the jugular:

And the capture:

Palestinian children use a candle for light during a power outage in Gaza City, Monday, Jan. 14, 2008. In early January Israel cut back on some of its fuel shipments to the volatile Gaza Strip in response to the daily barrages of homemade rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza at Israeli border towns. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

Doesn't take a lot of imagination to guess what the next pictures will be:

Elderly Palestinian (woman?) frozen to death because of the Zionist power outage

Gazans of all ages and genders dying in droves in hospitals in the middle of surgery because of the Zioni...

Gazan males stuck frozen in impossible positions mid-prayer because of the Zion...

Fertilizer to be used in manufacturing explosives remains unprocessed because of the Zio...

The BBC reports on an NHS poll (which is a clever publicity stunt) for a public vote on whether their new website should depict the human body as is, or leave out rather crucial bits of the body...

The genitals issue... This really could tear apart the (delicate as it is) fabric of the British society.

What is unclear to me - why the heck in our century, so advanced where computer imagery is concerned, some people don't see the solution that is literally under their noses?

Here is the high level design of the proposed solution:

The user enters his national ID (no worries, all Brits will get one eventually) complemented by scanning of the user's fingerprint and/or retina

The software goes to the national database, extracts all the user's data and covers/uncovers appropriate body parts according to age, gender and religious affiliation of the user, with items of clothing matching this affiliation

Voila! The appropriate, politically correct and multicultural presentation of the human body is on the user's screen

14 January 2008

This is only a part of the headline (they told me not to make them too long). The other part is:

Or lying through your teeth about power shortages in Gaza

The story by Barry Rubin of Gloria Center has all the elements of journalistic expose and I do not intend to steal his thunder here. Go and read it. I shall just tell you that I have taken the sentence of that lying SOB he points to:

Yesterday, Kanan Obeid, chairman of Gaza's Hamas-run energy authority, said Gaza now has only 35 percent of the power its 1.5 million residents need.

I run it through Google, and just to give you the taster of the agencies that run the article:

13 January 2008

Probably getting booted out from the DePaul university has exacerbated his all-consuming lust for visibility. Now he has found a way - after his other learned friend, who also went on a similar pilgrimage.

Finkelstein is known as a vocal American critic of Israeli policies in the region. He met with a Hezbollah commander in south Lebanon.

There is nothing better than that old quote from that post above:

Chomsky, he added "does not know that the Hezbollah arms scare the Lebanese people more than the Israelis." Chomsky obviously doesn'’t know that Hezbollah and its allies fought the Cedar Revolution by aligning themselves with the Syrian regime.

I am not sure whether Finkelstein, being groomed in PoliSci, doesn't know this, but it hardly matters, does it?

He told reporters that he thinks Hezbollah represents hope because “they are fighting to defend their homeland, they are fighting to defend the independence of their country, they are defending themselves against foreign …murderers.”

Yes, that too... And he didn't miss another photo op, cruising the cemetery of the "Lebanese victims", 70% of whom were Hezbollah "liberators".

What can I say? Expect a new book on the atrocities of Israeli murderers soon. And don't expect the Israeli victims to be mentioned in it.

12 January 2008

A retiring hero of the struggle against Nazism, whose story came to light only ten years ago, Bill Barazetti helped thousands of victims of discrimination to get out of prewar Germany. In a Schindler-style operation carried out in conjunction with a British stockbroker, Nicholas Winton, he also played a major part in organising the escape of children from German-occupied Prague in the spring and summer months of 1939 before war broke out. Between May and July that year three trainloads of mainly Jewish children — the Kindertransporte — left the city and, thanks to a complicated system of false identity papers engineered by Barazetti, succeeded in reaching London via Holland.

In a typically selfless act of courage, Chavez threw his weight on the scale to protect his friends.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called Friday for Europe to remove from its list of terrorist organizations two Colombian groups -- including FARC, the group that freed two hostages Thursday in a mission Chavez organized.

When asked why ELN and FARC kidnap people, kill other people and trade in cocaine, Comical Hugo answered that the journalists should learn and understand the real Bolivarian way and the real Bolivarian project.

11 January 2008

The theme for this week PhotoHunt is "Skinny". The dictionary shows one main meaning: "Having unattractive thinness". The other one, used in US mainly, is "Confidential information about a topic or person" and I think we can safely skip it. Especially due to the reason that I don't have any of that...The only person in our family that could be called skinny is our Chief Huntress:

She is less than half of the weight of The Big One (presented on this blog on other occasions), which makes her about 3.5 kg. But she is tough as nails (almost never sick in 16 years, which is how old she is), loyal and has a temper on her that makes The Big One to slink away very quietly when she is in one of these moods...

Here she is in rather a good mood. Oh, and while she could hardly pretend to be a thoroughbred, what with her being an alley cat's child, she is very close to the original Egyptian cat (look it up, if you are interested).

If you liked what you have seen (or read) in this post, add your link in the comments:

10 January 2008

I confess to being totally innocent on the subject of US elections machinery, internal politics, caucuses and you name it. However, the latest hysterical outcry from several sites, such as this one, cannot fail to attract one's attention.

Voter Fraud Against Paul Confirmed in Sutton, N.H.

It is a serious (or a serial?) allegation that became somewhat all too familiar lately when someone loses the election (well, to be truthful, it is almost expected in many places where democracy is somewhat of a novelty).

At the moment, the usual suspects are being fingered - the sinister cabal of "Diebold and Republican operatives", whatever it means. However, knowing what kind of crowd Ron Paul usually attracts* and seeing that the story originates from Kurt Nimmo and Alex Jones**, it is quite easy to see where it is all going.

In the comments on the site linked above, a "Neo-Con" conspiracy is already being blamed. It will take only a short time to get to the diabolical (but usual) link: Republicans - neocons - CIA - Mossad - J...***

How banal...

(*) There are quite a lot of perfectly nice people attracted by the kind of cheap rhetoric Ron Paul produces. Too bad.(**) Kurt Nimmo, Alex Jones and other conspiracy cranks of their ilk will not be linked from this here blog. Google if you want, but be warned: it could be stomach-turning.(***) I forgot to mention the Templars, the Illuminati and the Aliens, but I am confident that being Elders' partners for so many centuries they will understand and excuse me.